Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report

In The News

News outlets report on the most recent Ebola statistics compiled by the WHO, as well as the WHO’s assessment that the outbreak in West Africa is likely “vastly underestimated.”

Al Jazeera: WHO: Ebola outbreak vastly underestimated
“Though more than 1,000 people have died in the world’s worst ever outbreak, the U.N. now says that number may be higher…” (8/15).

CNN: WHO: Evidence shows Ebola crisis ‘vastly’ underestimated
“The magnitude of the Ebola crisis in West Africa is ‘vastly’ underestimated, the World Health Organization warned this week, as the death toll steadily climbed. Ebola has infected at least 2,127 people in Nigeria, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone since the outbreak began this year. Of the victims, 1,145 have died, according to the WHO. It said the number reflects the count as of Wednesday…” (Karimi, 8/15).

NPR: Ebola Numbers Vastly Underestimate Reach Of Outbreak, WHO Says
“The official count of Ebola cases and deaths may ‘vastly underestimate the magnitude of the outbreak,’ the World Health Organization posted on its website. The latest numbers from the WHO are 1,975 cases — with 1,069 deaths — from Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone…” (Farrington, 8/14).

Reuters: Evidence suggests Ebola toll vastly underestimated: WHO
“Staff with the World Health Organization battling an Ebola outbreak in West Africa see evidence the numbers of reported cases and deaths vastly underestimates the scale of the outbreak, the U.N. agency said on its website on Thursday…” (Samb, 8/15).

Reuters: Death toll from Ebola outbreak hits 1,145 in West Africa: WHO
“The death toll from the worst ever outbreak of Ebola has risen to 1,145, the World Health Organization said on Friday, as 76 new deaths were reported in the two days to August 13 in the four West African nations affected by the epidemic…” (Flynn, 8/15).

Reuters: Nigeria now has 12 Ebola cases, 5 recovered
“Nigeria has 12 confirmed cases of the Ebola virus, up from 10 at last week’s count, the health ministry said on Monday, of which five have almost fully recovered…” (8/18).

U.N. News Centre: Ebola: cases, deaths ‘vastly underestimated,’ says U.N. health agency
“Health workers at Ebola outbreak sites are seeing evidence that the numbers of reported cases and deaths vastly underestimate the magnitude of the crisis as they work around the clock to stop the disease from spreading, according to the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO)…” (8/15).

News outlets report on responses to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, including the WHO’s efforts, as well as control efforts in directly affected countries and other African countries.

Democracy Now: As WHO Warns Ebola Death Toll is Underestimated, How Should Global Community Handle Dire Crisis?
“The World Health Organization is now saying the number of reported cases and deaths of Ebola in West Africa vastly underestimates the scale of the outbreak. … We speak to three guests: Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Laurie Garrett, senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations; public health law professor Lawrence Gostin of Georgetown University; and medical anthropologist Adia Benton of Brown University, who has conducted research on infectious disease in Sierra Leone over several years…” (González/Goodman, 8/15).

Deutsche Welle: Ebola fight hindered by lack of awareness
“According to the World Health Organization, the spread of Ebola in West Africa is worse than previously thought. Doctors are facing a difficult battle, partly due to misinformation among the local population…” (8/16).

Inter Press Service: Côte d’Ivoire Steps Up Public Education to Keep Ebola Count at Zero Amid West Africa’s Worst Outbreak
“… Two of out of the four countries hit by the current epidemic, now declared out of control by the World Health Organization (WHO), share a border with Côte d’Ivoire. Nigeria is the fourth country in West Africa that has had cases of Ebola. And many worry that Côte d’Ivoire will soon be the next country to be hit by the most severe outbreak of the illness since its discovery in 1976…” (Boisvert, 8/18).

NPR: Kenya Shuts Borders To Ebola-Hit West African Countries
“The Kenyan government has taken the step of closing its borders to travelers from West African countries affected by the growing Ebola outbreak. The suspension applies to Kenyan ports of entry for people traveling from Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia, the country’s Health Ministry says. It goes into effect Tuesday at midnight…” (Neuman, 8/17).

Reuters: Ebola-hit states plead for more help, WHO rebuked for slow response
“Two West African nations and a medical charity fighting the world’s worst Ebola epidemic chided the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Friday for its slow response, saying more action was needed to save victims threatened by the disease and hunger…” (8/17).

Reuters: African Ebola outbreak like “wartime,” will take 6 months to control: MSF
“It will take about six months to bring under control the Ebola epidemic, the head of Médecins Sans Frontières said on Friday, saying the outbreak in West Africa felt like ‘wartime, is moving, advancing’…” (Nebehay, 8/15).

Reuters: Guinea reopens Ebola clinic as sick spill over border
“Guinea said on Saturday it will reopen an Ebola clinic in its remote southeast as sick nationals living in Liberia and Sierra Leone spill over the borders in search of better treatment…” (Samb, 8/16).

Reuters: Exclusive: Emergency food drops eyed for quarantined Ebola region of West Africa
“International agencies are looking into emergency food drops and truck convoys to reach extremely hungry people in Liberia and Sierra Leone, who are cordoned off from the outside world to halt the spread of the Ebola virus, a top World Bank official said on Thursday…” (Dawson, 8/14).

News outlets report on the issuance of warnings from the WHO and the U.S. FDA about fake Ebola cures, as well as other issues related to the treatment of Ebola.

Guardian: Ebola outbreak: the vaccine and ‘secret serum’ explained
“As Nigeria becomes the fourth West African country fighting to contain Ebola, Professor Eleanor Riley from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine explains the latest medical science for preventing and treating the disease…” (Leach, 8/15).

Mother Jones: New Drugs and Vaccines Can’t Stop This Ebola Outbreak
“With the death toll in the worst Ebola outbreak in history exceeding 1,000, pharmaceutical companies and health authorities are sprinting to develop new drugs and vaccines. On Monday, drug-maker GlaxoSmithKline announced that it would start clinical trials of an Ebola vaccine ahead of schedule. And on Tuesday, the World Health Organization ruled that the use of experimental drugs to treat Ebola patients is ethical so long as the patients give their consent. But for now, there are no proven drugs to treat Ebola, and experts doubt that any new drug or vaccine could beat back the current outbreak in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea…” (Redden, 8/18).

New York Times: Agencies Issue Warnings Over Bogus Ebola Cures
“Panic over Ebola has the makers of dietary supplements aggressively targeting Africans, claiming to have a cure for the lethal virus. Late this week, both the World Health Organization and the United States Food and Drug Administration issued strong warnings about false Ebola cures. The latter threatened American companies with penalties if they continue making such claims…” (McNeil, 8/15).

New York Times: 3 Liberian Health Workers With Ebola Receive Scarce Drug After Appeals to U.S.
“Three Liberian health care workers who have contracted Ebola received an extremely scarce experimental serum on Friday at a hospital outside the national capital, Monrovia, a Liberian health official said Saturday…” (Fink, 8/16).

Reuters: Liberia gives experimental Ebola drug to three African doctors
“Health care workers in Liberia have administered three doses of the rare, experimental drug ZMapp to three doctors suffering from Ebola, two medical workers in Monrovia told Reuters…” (MacDougall, 8/16).

ScienceInsider: WHO ponders treating Ebola-infected people with blood of survivors
“As the Ebola outbreaks rages on in West Africa, the World Health Organization (WHO), desperate for a way to help infected people, is reconsidering a potential Ebola treatment tried as far back as 1976, after the first documented outbreak of the deadly viral disease: using the blood of people who have recovered from an infection to treat those still fighting the virus…” (Kupferschmidt, 8/15).

News outlets report on the latest U.S. responses to Ebola, including how the U.S. health care system is preparing for and may be impacted by Ebola.

The Hill: Obama offers condolences to Ebola victims
“President Obama on Thursday offered condolences to the victims of the deadly Ebola outbreak plaguing West Africa in phone calls with the leaders of Liberia and Sierra Leone. Obama told Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Koroma that the United States was committed to helping contain the outbreak, according to the White House…” (Sink, 8/14).

NPR: What The U.S. Health Care System Can Learn From Ebola Outbreak
“The WHO selected [Jeanine Thomas, a patient advocate,] to serve on the ethics committee that recommended making experimental drugs available to Ebola patients in West Africa. … Here she discusses why the Ebola decision has relevance for the U.S. health care system…” (Allen 8/15).

New York Times: Hospitals in the U.S. Get Ready for Ebola
“Hospitals nationwide are hustling to prepare for the first traveler from West Africa who arrives in the emergency room with symptoms of infection with the Ebola virus…” (Saint Louis, 8/15).

New York Times: Treatment in U.S. Is Rare Chance to Study Ebola
“The care that Mrs. Writebol and Dr. Brantly [the two Americans with Ebola flown back to the U.S.] are receiving at Emory is expected to greatly improve their odds of recovery. And they are providing a rare opportunity to study the disease with extensive testing not available in Africa…” (Grady, 8/17).

News outlets report on the WHO’s statement on the ‘low’ risk of Ebola transmission for airline travel. Despite the WHO’s statement, a few airlines have suspended flights to and from affected countries, as well as other parts of Africa, due to the outbreak.

New York Times: Health Officials Try to Quell Fear of Ebola Spreading by Air Travel
“The World Health Organization on Thursday swiftly sought to quell fears that international air travel could become a conduit for spreading the deadly Ebola virus from Africa around the globe, emphasizing that such a risk was low…” (Cumming-Bruce, 8/14).

Reuters: Kenya Airways to suspend flights to Freetown, Monrovia due to Ebola
“Kenya Airways will suspend flights to Liberia’s capital Monrovia and Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown due to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the company said on Saturday…” (Miriri, 8/16).

U.N. News Centre: Ebola: U.N. health agency seeks to allay fears about air travel
“The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) today sought to allay fears amid reports that airlines are suspending flights over the Ebola outbreak by sending out a social media messages with assurances that ‘unlike infections like influenza and tuberculosis, Ebola is not airborne’ …” (8/14).

VOA News: WHO: Ebola Unlikely to Spread on Airplanes
“The World Health Organization says it does not recommend a ban on air travel to and from Ebola affected countries in West Africa. … Korean Air announced Thursday it would suspend air travel to Kenya as of August 20 as a measure to prevent the spread of the Ebola virus. The first airline to take similar action was the Dubai carrier Emirates, which suspended air travel to Guinea on August 2…” (Schlein, 8/14).

WHO: WHO: Air travel is low-risk for Ebola transmission
“The World Health Organization (WHO) today reiterated its position that the risk of transmission of Ebola virus disease during air travel remains low…” (8/14).

News outlets discuss the attack on and looting of an Ebola clinic in Liberia, as well as other developments related to the outbreak in Liberia, including the quarantining of remote villages.

Agence France-Presse: Infected Ebola patients flee after attack on Liberia clinic
“Seventeen Ebola patients in Liberia who fled from a quarantine center after it was attacked by club-wielding youths were missing on Sunday, striking a fresh blow to efforts to contain the deadly virus. The attack on the Monrovia center late Saturday highlighted the challenge faced by health authorities battling the epidemic that has killed 1,145 people since it erupted in west Africa early this year, spreading panic among local populations…” (Dosso, 8/17).

Associated Press: Liberia: Ebola fears rise as clinic is looted
“…The violence in the West Point slum occurred late Saturday and was led by residents angry that patients were brought to the holding center from other parts of Monrovia, Tolbert Nyenswah, assistant health minister, said Sunday…” (Paye-Layleh, 8/17).

New York Times: Liberia Expanding Space for Ebola Patient Care
“Doctors Without Borders began accepting patients on Sunday at what is intended to be the organization’s largest-ever Ebola treatment center, near Liberia’s capital, Monrovia. The opening came a day after an improvised holding center at a former school in the densely packed West Point neighborhood of Monrovia was overrun by protesters who broke through the gates and carried away patients and supplies, including contaminated mattresses…” (Fink, 8/17).

Reuters: Struggling Liberia creates ‘plague villages’ in Ebola epicenter
“To try to control the Ebola epidemic spreading through West Africa, Liberia has quarantined remote villages at the epicenter of the virus, evoking the ‘plague villages’ of medieval Europe that were shut off from the outside world. With few food and medical supplies getting in, many abandoned villagers face a stark choice: stay where they are and risk death or skip quarantine, spreading the infection further in a country ill-equipped to cope…” (Telmor/Farge, 8/17).

VOA News: Armed Men Raid Liberia Ebola Quarantine Center
“A group of young men armed with clubs, claiming that ‘there’s no Ebola’ in Liberia, raided a quarantine center for the deadly disease in Monrovia overnight, prompting about 20 patients infected with the deadly virus to flee, a witness said Sunday…” (8/17).

Washington Post: Ebola striking women more frequently than men
“As the number of lives claimed by the Ebola epidemic in West Africa rises above 1,000, the rate of infection among women is outpacing that among men because women are the caregivers, nurses, and cross-border traders, health officials report…” (Hogan, 8/14).

San Francisco Chronicle: Ebola isn’t only tropical disease with no drug
“As the death toll from the Ebola outbreak exceeds 1,000, pharmaceutical companies and government agencies are rushing to create the first-ever drug for the illness. But it is not the only tropical, infectious disease that lacks a drug…” (Lee, 8/15).

Inter Press Service: U.S. Urged to Put Development Aid over Border Security
“…Many potential solutions have been tabled as to how the federal government should handle the unprecedented influx [of tens of thousands of Central American children and adults that continue to cross the U.S. southern border]. Yet these strategies, which include two proposals pending in Congress, are built on starkly differing views over why these migrants are leaving their homes in the first place…” (Hotz, 8/15).

News outlets examine the fallout from Uganda’s anti-gay law and examine the situation after the country’s constitutional court invalidated the law earlier this month.

Associated Press: Ugandan gays who fled to Kenya still feel danger
“When a Ugandan court overturned the country’s Anti-Homosexuality Act this month, rights activists worldwide claimed a victory. But not gay Ugandans who fled persecution to live in a refugee camp in neighboring Kenya…” (Chin, 8/17).

IRIN: Briefing: What next for Uganda’s anti-gay law?
“It led to increased repression, drew international condemnation and prompted foreign donors to suspend millions of dollars in aid. Then earlier this month the constitutional court threw it out. But is Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act (AHA), promulgated by President Yoweri Museveni in February, truly dead and buried?…” (8/14).

News outlets report on efforts to reduce maternal and newborn mortality as the deadline for the Millennium Development Goals draws closer.

Bloomberg News: Most Dangerous Day of Life Is Birth as Million Babies Die
“…Birth remains a stubbornly deadly affair in [Mozambique] and 74 other developing nations, eroding their human capital and keeping billions of people entrapped in a cycle of poverty that a new United Nations-backed plan says can be reversed with spending just over $1 a person more on health…” (Gale, 8/18).

The Guardian: Maternal mortality? It’s just poor African and Asian women dying
“…Although the global maternal mortality ratio has dropped by 45 percent between 1990 and 2013, which equates to a decline in deaths per 100,000 live births from 380 to 210, the figures still fall significantly short of the 2015 target…” (Ford, 8/18).

Inter Press Service: TB Epidemic Threat Hangs Over Ukraine Conflict
“Doctors are warning of a worsening tuberculosis epidemic in Eastern Ukraine as the continuing conflict there begins to take a heavy toll on public health…” (Stracansky, 8/17).

U.N. News Centre: U.N., humanitarian partners launch health plan in crisis-torn eastern Ukraine
“Conflict in eastern Ukraine, mainly in the areas in and around the cities of Donetsk and Luhansk, has affected nearly four million people, including 156,000 internally displaced people, many of whom lack access to health care, a United Nations health official said today as he appealed for funds to help address the situation…” (8/15).

News outlets examine how fighting in South Sudan is contributing to food insecurity in the country.

Foreign Policy: South Sudan’s Coming Famine
“…[A] fresh round of fighting, which erupted over the weekend between government forces and rebels loyal to former Vice President Riek Machar, further erodes the prospects for peace in the world’s newest nation and imperils critical humanitarian efforts aimed at keeping a potential famine at bay…” (McCormick, 8/16).

Inter Press Service: South Sudan Heads towards Famine Amid ‘Descent into Lawlessness’
“…[I]nstead of bringing about peace, the leaders of South Sudan’s warring parties have allowed the country to continue its slide toward famine…” (Green, 8/14).

Bloomberg News: Vaccine for Mosquito-Borne Virus Shows Promise in Tests
“A novel vaccine developed by U.S. government researchers is showing promise against chikungunya, a debilitating mosquito-borne virus that started spreading this summer in the southern U.S…” (Cortez, 8/14).

Reuters: Experimental chikungunya vaccine shows promise in human trial
“An experimental vaccine being developed by U.S. government scientists to prevent the painful mosquito-borne viral disease chikungunya has shown promise in its first human trials but remains years away from approval for widespread use…” (Dunham, 8/15).

ScienceInsider: Chikungunya threat inspires new DARPA challenge
“The research branch of the U.S. Department of Defense wants to know when and where the next outbreak of the mosquito-borne chikungunya virus will occur, and it’s offering $150,000 for the best new approach…” (Servick, 8/15).

IRIN reports from the 2014 World Professional Association of Transgender Health (WPATH) symposium in Bangkok.

IRIN: Right to dignity — barriers to health care for transgenders
“…From being labelled as having a disorder to shouldering the burden of some of the highest rates of violence and HIV infection in the world, the perils of daily life for transgender people are multi-layered and can inflict substantial harm, experts and activists say…” (8/14).

IRIN: LGBTI rights — still not there yet
“In recent years, the world has seen enormous human rights gains with respect to sexual orientation and gender identity and expression. However, there have also been substantial setbacks — ranging from discriminatory legislation, to impunity for brutal violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) people…” (8/14).

IRIN: Lost in the chaos — LGBTI people in emergencies
“Unaddressed protection needs, rigid systems, and research gaps imperil lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) people in humanitarian emergencies…” (8/14).

Agence France-Presse: Nepal floods kill 101 as cholera fears mount
“The death toll from landslides and flooding in Nepal has risen to 101 after rescuers found four more bodies, officials said Monday, as they battled to prevent a cholera outbreak…” (8/18).

The Guardian: Public Eye: USAID promotes inclusive business for development goal
The newspaper interviews Ricardo Michel, director at the Center for Transformational Partnerships, U.S. Global Development Lab at USAID. Michel “is responsible for the overall strategic direction to best use local and global public-private partnerships for accelerated sustainable development…” (8/15).

NPR: Fake Cures For AIDS Have A Long And Dreadful History
“…[A]ny claim for an unproven cure, offering hope that could deter patients from effective treatment, is cruel. But myths, false claims and outright fraud have persisted in the AIDS epidemic…” (Brink, 8/17).

“…It is no coincidence that the countries now affected by Ebola are some of the worst governed in the world. Public health is not a priority there, which is why it took months to notice what was happening. … One lesson learned from recent successes against AIDS, malaria, and TB is that victory comes only when the whole infrastructure of health, including the active involvement of local people, is promoted. As places get richer (as many African nations now are), more money for public health becomes available. With luck, then, outbreaks such as the current one will get rarer in the future…” (8/16).

“…Unfortunately, the three countries most affected — Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone — are among the poorest and most war-racked in the world and have very weak health care systems. They desperately need help in organizing their responses. The WHO should be filling that role, but it has been shamefully slow. … The big unanswered question is who will be available to provide hands-on care as the number of cases continues to mount…” (8/15).

Washington Post: Time to cut the hype and focus on the real dangers of Ebola
Editorial Board

“…It is time to see the Ebola outbreak area as a global disaster zone and commit to what will probably be months of grueling work in challenging conditions, in locations of ‘extreme poverty, [with] dysfunctional health systems, a severe shortage of doctors and rampant fear,’ as the WHO put it. Either the world mobilizes now, or the next fight against the disease will be even more frightening” (8/17).

New York Times: Can Statins Help Treat Ebola?
David Fedson, retired professor of medicine at the University of Virginia, and Steven Opal, professor of medicine at Brown University

“…Surprising as it may seem, we believe that several widely available drugs that were initially developed to treat patients with cardiovascular diseases and diabetes may be effective [against Ebola]. … [T]he best evidence we have suggests that Ebola patients and their doctors should be given a chance to consider the benefits as well as the risks that these drugs may offer. Nothing should stop physicians from using them as long as they document the impact of treatment on disease outcome…” (8/15).

Foreign Policy: You Are Not Nearly Scared Enough About Ebola
Laurie Garrett, senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations

“Attention, World: You just don’t get it. … ‘Getting it,’ in this epidemic, means realizing that over the next six to 12 months, these countries will needs millions of dollars’ worth of basic supplies, hundreds of highly skilled health care workers, including logistics supplies officers, and self-sufficiency for all foreigners (food, water, personal supplies)…” (8/14).

Foreign Policy: The Cure for Ebola Is Accountability
Blair Glencorse, executive director of the Accountability Lab, and Brooks Marmon, an accountability architect for the Lab in Liberia

“…The governments in the region and the international community are finally getting serious about a coordinated response to Ebola. Sadly, however, these measures only treat the symptoms and not the causes of the problem — which at their core are issues of corruption, mismanagement, and a lack of accountability of those in power to their people. … As a result, the Ebola challenges are now evolving into larger problems of instability in the region…” (8/14).

Huffington Post: The West Africa Ebola Epidemic Arouses Global Response But Caution Needs an Ally and a Local Interpreter
Sharon Hrynkow, president of Global Virus Network

“…As an ethical imperative, those most affected by Ebola must be at the negotiating table as decisions are made about scale-up and rapid distribution of experimental and potentially promising drugs and interventions. In addition to African political and public health leaders, we hope to see significant representation in the negotiations by African medical virologists…” (8/15).

Huffington Post: How Many Lives Can We Save In 500 Days?
Ray Chambers, U.N. Special Envoy for Health Financing

“…[W]ith only 500 days remaining, I find myself thinking about what can still be done to improve the chances of reaching [the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)]. Three things rise to the top of my list: (1) securing a global financing boost that takes us to the MDG deadline and also lays the foundation for more sustainable funding approaches going forward, (2) ensuring the commitments of all players in global health to remain laser focused on saving lives and doing their best to track and report on those lives saved (3) identifying ways to maximize existing health service delivery platforms to do as much as possible to not ‘miss opportunities’ for integration…” (8/15).

Washington Post: Experts are predicting a famine in South Sudan. Why can’t we stop it?
Rick Noack, an Arthur F. Burns Fellow at the Washington Post

“…If governments and NGOs have known about the looming catastrophe in South Sudan for months and if early reactions could have saved thousands of lives, why were they waiting? The problem is that South Sudan is following a standard pattern for these kinds of problems: The help only really arrives once it’s too late. … That’s a shame for all. Responding to disasters retroactively not only endangers many more lives, it can also cost more money…” (8/16).

Recent Releases

Kaiser Family Foundation: Ebola in West Africa: Four Questions for the U.S. Response Going Forward
This ‘Policy Insight’ piece highlights four key questions regarding the U.S. response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa going forward. “…Congress and the Administration … face a uniquely powerful and opportune moment to focus on the key questions and debates that have been raised by the outbreak and response…” (Michaud/Kates, 8/18).

Oxfam’s “From Policy To Power”: The Power of Numbers: Why the MDGs were flawed (and post2015 goals look set to go the same way)
Duncan Green, strategic adviser for Oxfam GB, talks about “the ‘Power of Numbers’ project, coordinated by Sakiko Fukuda-Parr (The New School) and Alicia Ely Yamin (Harvard University),” evaluating progress on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and their impact on the post-2015 development agenda (8/14).

Council on Foreign Relations’ “Asia Unbound”: Cell Phones — The Future of Rural Health Care in South Asia
In a guest post, Becky Allen, the women and foreign policy intern at CFR, and Jenna Karp, the global health governance intern at CFR, discuss how mobile technology is being used to improve maternal and child health in Asia (8/14).

Aidspan: Global Fund Observer
Aidspan, an independent watchdog of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, has published Issue 249 of the “Global Fund Observer.” The newsletter includes a commentary on the organization’s new funding model and a news story announcing Inspector General Martin O’Malley’s intention to resign his position, among other pieces (8/15).